The crisis at Italian agri-food giant Parmalat, described by Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti as "Europe's Enron", sent shockwaves through Italian industry
Published:
21 December 2003 y., Sunday
"The situation is very serious," Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said, announcing his government would intervene to try to salvage the agri-food giant "to restore confidence and the country's reputation".
The scandal, sparked by the discovery of a four billion-euro "hole" in its accounts, follows the recent spectacular collapse of another high-profile Italian food company, Cirio.
"The government will intervene above all to save the company and its industrial sector and to save the jobs...." Berlusconi told an end-of-year press conference in Rome.
He said Tremonti, whose "Enron" remark was reportedly made at a cabinet meeting which discussed the crisis on Friday, would submit rescue proposals to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Parmalat, Italy's leading agri-food company with a workforce of more than 36,000 in 30 countries, was already struggling to cover estimated debts of 6.0 billion euros when the hole was discovered.
The Bank of America (BoA) disowned the authenticity of a document certifying that Parmalat's Cayman unit Bonlat Financing Corporation had 3.950 billion euros (4.9 billion dollars) of liquidity at December 31, 2002.
Analysts said Friday Parmalat was close to declaring bankruptcy after the discovery of the massive hole in the company's accounts. affected" by the crisis, Berlusconi said.
Šaltinis:
AFP
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
According to the data presented by the Ministry of Finance, in end-January central government debt made up LTL26, 310.8 million or 28% of projected GDP for 2010 (LTL 93, 819 million).
more »
As far as countries affected by the economic crisis, China fared extremely well.
more »
The European Commission has authorised today a Slovak scheme with a budget of approximately €3.32 million which aims at supporting farmers in Slovakia who encounter difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis.
more »
Commission sets out a 10-year strategy for reviving the European economy, casting a vision of ‘smart, sustainable, inclusive' growth rooted in greater coordination of national and European policy.
more »
The European Commission has launched today the Europe 2020 Strategy to go out of the crisis and prepare EU economy for the next decade. The Commission identifies three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete actions at EU and national levels.
more »
Launching of the “SCHOOLS’ initiative for innovation and changes” Grant scheme.
more »
EU Member States must not only deliver on their international aid pledges, but also bring in a financial transactions tax and a temporary debt moratorium, to help developing countries to cope with the effects of the global financial and economic crisis, said the Development Committee on Monday.
more »
The EBRD is increasing its commitments to promote sustainable energy projects in Slovakia with a new €90 million funding under the existing Slovakia Sustainable Energy Finance Facility (SLOVSEFF) to ensure continuous implementation of energy efficiency and small renewable energy projects.
more »
According to the unaudited data, in 2009 AB Bank SNORAS earned LTL 8.7 million profit. The bank’s assets grew by 11 per cent up to LTL 6.342 billion during 2009 and were by LTL 647.8 million larger than at the beginning of 2009.
more »
Aviation security measures that go beyond common EU requirements should be paid for by Member States, not by passengers, said Transport Committee MEPs in a vote on Monday that could put Parliament on a collision course with the Council of Ministers.
more »